Mark and I got up early the next morning so that he could show me the birds at a couple of his fishing spots on Henry's Fork of the Snake River. Mark said there had been a lot Bald Eagles and Osprey at these spots recently. We did see a couple of Osprey, but apparently, the Bald Eagles had moved on through. However, we did see a couple of Caspian Terns, a Spotted Sandpiper, a Great Blue Heron, a Lincoln's Sparrow, and a few other songbirds in spite of the wind. Most importantly, it was great catching up and hearing about Mark's family and their life in Idaho. Here is one of the Caspian Terns we saw.
We returned to Mark's house just in time for a delicious breakfast. Then Heidi packed us some lunches, and Mark drove us to Mesa Falls. On the way, we saw some Swainson's Hawks hunting in a field that was being worked by a combine. Mark stopped so I could try for some photos, but with all the dust in the air and the traffic flying by us, this was the best shot I could get.
Mesa Falls was beautiful! We saw a Western Tanager, and a hatch year Osprey hanging around its nest, while we were there.
Next we visited Harriman State Park, where we took a short hike and ate our lunch. As we drove into the park, we saw our only two Trumpeter Swans of the trip. We also discovered this Hairy Woodpecker, and and Eared Grebe, while on our hike.
The best bird of the day, however, flew over the Matthews family's yard and landed across the road on a hay bail, while we were talking inside after returning from our adventure. I saw this bird fly by the window and continue across the street. So I ran outside, got in the Santa Fe and drove down the road a little ways to get closer for a shot from the car. This bird was amazingly cooperative, and stayed around on its perch long after I drove back to the driveway and went back inside. This was my best look at a Swainson's Hawk for the whole trip.
After some great conversation, we headed to the new Japanese restaurant in St. Anthony, Idaho for dinner. Carrie and I shared a meal, which included Sushi. We encouraged both Caleb and Daniel to try a piece of Sushi. Each of them tried a piece, and each of them liked it. So we decided to see what would happen if they both tried Wasabi sauce. Daniel tried his first while Caleb was in the bathroom. I did not put much on his food, but we could tell he had that "it's going up my nose feeling" by the expression on his face when he ate it. Daniel did a great job of encouraging Caleb to try the Wasabi when he returned. Caleb tried his on a french fry. I also only gave him a tiny dab, and somehow, he did not get much of a taste. Perhaps he swallowed the fry too fast. When he said he did not taste anything, I decided to give him a little extra on the next fry he handed me. So I put about four times the amount that I regularly put on a piece of Sushi, and Caleb bravely placed another fry in his mouth. The reaction was delayed about a second or two. Then it looked like Caleb's eyes were going to pop out of his head, and we all burst out in laughter. The next morning, I told Mark, we ought to call Caleb, "Wasabi" since he did not like his current nickname. Mark replied, "Wasabeeeeeeee!" while looking at Caleb, and that was that. A new nickname had been given to a brave young man, who will probably never eat Wasabi again at least until he is 35--Caleb Wasabi Matthews!
These events took place on September 3, 2014, but this post was written and published on October 8, 2014.
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